To Dear S

**

Its evening… the phone rings.

I rush to check.

Am ready with ‘Nanragha irukken, nee?’ (am fine, you?)

To your ‘Eppadi irukke?’ (how’re you?)

But it isn’t you.

Has been over a month now😟

**

Was it something I said last?

But we never raise our voice with each other.

Have you gone away to your son in US?

That, you had not mentioned.

Your phone not working?

Ah, that must be it!

**

Feeling too drained to talk?

Pumping out every third day,

I would be, too..

But you were always back to gupp:

CMC, Gupta, Alok, Sampat…

Did it matter we done it before?

**

A link I cling onto precariously,

all the way back to school!

Bringing a few moments

of comfort and warmth and a smile,

like a cool breeze…to a care-worn present,

making it worth the while.

**

What if you didn’t call?

What’s between us?

Well, I should as well be,

and call I will for sure.

But I know…

Dear S, what was the hurry?😟😟

End

Sent from Yahoo Mail on Android

When Words Come Home Finally…

It was her birthday. I sent these words:

The words now in English, equivalent though not exact:

**

“All through the waking night,

to the Moon above I opened my heart.

The words gushing, of a besotted lover,

unabashedly smitten over your…

Even she blushed, your flirtatious sister in the sky.

But as the night wore on, it was pure envy,

that made her turn into a ball of fury,

And blaze in the sky for all of the day!

**

And then:

While I was not done yet congratulating myself

over the words chosen for her birthday, enough,

she fondly runs her fingers through my hair, I thought.

Only to check for bumps on my head, it turns out.

She thinks this: did I sneak out to bhang parties?

Though it’s clear three days past Holi and its orgies.

How could it be?

The bulk, the bustle and the swish of air behind me

would surely show like nose on a face for all to see.

Nonplussed yet, she checks if it were the morning pills

for the head and the heart, BP, sugar and other ills.

All rightly taken…

Left with this one possibility, the final…

she breaks into a smile giving pallor to the celestial.

:-)))

End

To Be Or To Be

Appeared here about nine years ago:

**

To be a doctor was my Dad’s dream.
A hospital of my own, his viruppam.
Obstetrics, orthopedics or oncology?
On which, to be fair, he was not too picky.

For my Mom, a singer of rare talent I was to be.
A maestro rhapsodizing in ragas and melody.
Reaching heights and winning medals,
Cutting CD’s, closing lucrative deals.

Cricket was my Uncle’s choice,
Fours and sixes were his shrieks of joy,
Another Kapil Dev, he clearly saw in me.
Or a wicket-keeper at least if that be.

My Grandpa was a man of Kadhi,
Never was one to listen to Dadhi,
Went to jail twice in times of Gandhi,
Wanted me to live for aam admi

The dear Dadhi was long gone.
Her wish was sadly never known:
A scholar in scriptures or a temple priest?
Perhaps a cop solving a scam or a heist?

Well, wishes and wishes… so many.
I’m glad I didn’t disappoint them any.
Before you think I’m off the rails now,
It’s all on stage with paint and powder, that’s how!

End

Viruppam is desire. Aam admi is common man. Kadhi is hand-woven fabric. Dadhi is grandmamma.

A Fox Sleeping In A Graveyard

End

PS: See here for more.

Source: Science Memes (Dan Dan)

A Suicide That Went Un-mourned!

Vide Veeramani Veeraswami  and Ravichandran Kp

Not to worry – we are not talking about any evil serial-killer ending his life.

Read on, it is about an amazing visualization by a poet!

It’s about a woman’s nose-ring.

The following is said to be appearing in ‘The Prabhu Linga Leelai’ venpa’s (verses/poems) in Tamil written by Siva Prakasar, a sage, a Tamil poet, lived around at the end of the 17th century. It is a translation of an original Lingayata work in Kannada of 15^th century (Wiki) :

தன்னை நிந்தைசெய் வெண்நகைமேல் பழிசார
மன்னி அங்கது வாழ்மனை வாய்தன்
முன்னிறந் திடுவேன் எனஞான்று கொள்முறைமை
என்ன வெண்மணி மூக்கணி ஒருத்தி நின்றிட்டாள்.

Meaning of words in Tamil:

வெண்நகை – வெண்பல்; மன்னி – நிலைபெற்று; வாய்தல் – வாசல்; ஞான்றுகொள் – தூக்குப் போட்டுக் கொள்கிற;
வெண்மணி மூக்கணி – வெள்ளை முத்துக் கோத்த மூக்கணி, புல்லாக்கு. இது மூக்கின்
நடுத்தண்டிற்றுளைத்துப் புனைந்து மேலுதட்டில் படுமாறு அணியும் ஒரு முத்துக் கோத்த அணி.

Explanation in Tamil:

புல்லாக்கு என்றொறு அணிகலத்தை மூக்கின் இருதுளைக் கிடையிலான நடுச்சுவரில் அணிந்துகொள்ளும் பழக்கம் தொன்றுதொட்டு இருந்துவந்தது.

பொதுவாகப் பெண்களின் பல்லை முத்திற்கு உவமை சொல்வார்கள்.அதாவது முத்துபோன்ற பற்கள் என்று. முத்துப்பற்கள் – முத்துபோன்ற பற்கள் என்றால் அவள்பற்கள் முத்தைப்போல் இருந்தது என்றல்லவா பொருள்.இங்கே முத்தை முதன்மைப் படுத்துவதால் முத்துக்குத் தானே பெருமை.

இதனால் இதுகாறும் இறுமாந்து வந்த முத்திற்கு இக்கவிஞன் தன்காதலியின் பல்லை உயர்த்தியும் முதன்மைப் படுத்தியும் அவள் பல்போல் முத்திருக்கிற தென்று முத்தைத் தாழ்த்தியும் கூறியதால் முத்துக்கு அவமான மேற்பட்டுவிட்டதாம்.

முத்திற்குக் கடுங்கோபம்.அத்தோடு அவமானம் வேறு அதன்மனதை ஆட்டிப் படைத்துக்கொண்டிருந்தது. இதுகாறும் முத்தை உயர்த்தி ‘முத்துபோல் பெண்களின் பற்கள்’ என்று பாடிய புலவர்கள் மத்தியில் இக்கவிஞன் பற்கள்போல் முத்துக்கள் என்று பாடி தன்னை அவமானப் படுத்திவிட்டானே என்று அவ்வவமானத்தைப் போக்க ‘அவள் பற்கள் இருக்கும் இடத்திற்கே சென்று தூக்குப்போட்டுக் கொண்டுச் சாகிறேன்பார். என் இறப்பைக் கண்டபிறகாவது காண்போர் சொல்லட்டும் முத்தைப்போல் பற்களா? பற்கள்போல் முத்துக்களா என்று’ -என்று முத்து பல் இருக்கும் இடத்திற்கே சென்று தூக்குப் போட்டுக்கொண்டதாம்.

அதுதான் புல்லாக்கு என்ற அணிகலமாம்.

Explanation in English:

‘Bullaakku’ (see the pic) a ring like ornament worn hanging down from the nasal septum by women.

Generally a woman’s teeth are compared to pearls, by poets of yore. This comparison places the pearls a notch above the teeth though (in their beauty, whiteness), making the pearls swollen-headed.

However this poet says the pearls she wore are like her teeth, placing her teeth a notch above the pearls.

Feeling mighty insulted, the pearls remonstrated: ‘Unfair, wrong, unacceptable, can’t take it lying down…we’ll come right up to where you (teeth) live (mouth) and hang ourselves to death, Let people decide…’

That’s how pearly ‘Bullaakku’ came into being, hanging from the nose down to the upper lip!

Before signing off, here’s a pix on ear rings and pins worn by women, each with a distinct name!

(Pic: ஐந்தொழில் கம்மாளர்களின்-கலைக்களம்)

End

The Most Beautiful Word

The most beautiful word
In the world is not love,
Nor is it halcyon or hope,
And neither exemption nor blessed redemption
Falls into the breadth of its scope.

While words may have beauty
And susurrous charm,
Ineffable eloquence too,
And though mellifluous, they’re still superfluous;
Their arms cannot carry you through

All the walls that divide,
All the borders that hate,
All the ignorant eyes that can’t see;
The most beautiful word that could ever be heard
Is not “you” nor “I”, it is “we”.

2019 © Sonya Annita Song

End

Source: reowr.com

When Life Is Taken Away…

Removing life from a man renders him dead;

and from a woman, in her place a mother is born!

End

Source: Ravi Kumar‎ படித்ததில் ரசித்தது

Karma Is Not A Bitch, It’s More Like A…

Sanmargam

From Naaladiyar inOld Tamil Poetry:

பல் ஆவுள் உய்த்துவிடினும், குழக் கன்று
வல்லது ஆம், தாய் நாடிக் கோடலை; தொல்லைப்
பழவினையும் அன்ன தகைத்தே, தற் செய்த
கிழவனை நாடிக் கொளற்கு.

“One cannot escape the consequences of his action. Wherever he hides, his bad karma will catch up with him. Like a calf that is let loose among a herd of cows. Though there is a herd of many cows, the calf will zero in on its mother easily. Likewise bad karma will find and attach itself to the man responsible for it.“

TheNāladiyār(Tamil:நாலடியார்) is aTamilpoetic work ofdidacticnature, next only to Thirukkural, composed by Jain monks, belonging to thePatiṉeṇkīḻkaṇakkuanthology ofTamil literature. This belongs to the postSangamperiod corresponding to between 100 – 500 CE.Nāladiyārcontains 400 poems, each containing four lines. Every poem deals with morals and ethics, extolling righteous…

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Autumn

(English translation of these beautiful lines follows)

एक वृद्धाश्रम के गेटपर लिखा हुआ एक अप्रतिम सुविचार :

एक वृद्धाश्रम के गेटपर लिखा हुआ एक अप्रतिम सुविचार :

“नीचे गिरे सूखे पत्तों पर

अदब से चलना ज़रा …

कभी कड़ी धूप में तुमने

इनसे ही पनाह माँगी थी. ”

 

A ‘near’ translation of a sign outside a senior citizens’ home:

“Walk gently over the fallen leaves,

for you had sought their shade once up on a hot summer.”

End

 

 

Source: via Gopalaswamy, image from pixabay.com

Squirrels in Winter

Hmmm…never quite thought about it:

Have you ever worried
about squirrels in winter?
I see them climb over snowdrifts
with their bare paws —
they have no winter boots.

I see them stop
to tuck their tiny front paws
into their armpits
for warmth —
they have no mitts.

When it rains
I see them huddle
under trees,
they still get soaked —
they have no raincoats.

They have no pants,
no dresses, no hats,
no warm winter coats,
no shelter or fires
to warm their bodies.

Even the homeless men
whose beds are the sidewalk
have sleeping bags
to keep them warm.
Squirrels have nothing.

Still they remain cheery,
hopping about
gathering nuts,
Who knew
it was such a hard life
for squirrels in winter?

End

 

 

Source: Squirrels in Winter For some reason reblog didn’t produce it. So ……The author has a request:  “Buy my book for $0.99 — proceeds feed the homeless: Gotta Find a Home; Conversations with Street People: http://buff.ly/1wyjiKS”